Comparing the Outcomes of Thyroid Surgical Procedures for Benign Diseases with Expertise of the Surgeon in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Nadir Mehmood Mehmood; Liaquat Ali Bhatti; M. Idrees Anwar; M. Aslam Chaudhry; Malik Irfan Ahmed; Maha Nadir; Hamza Nadir; Mishal Fatima

doi:10.35787/jimdc.v10i2.697

Nadir Mehmood Mehmood Rawalpindi Medical University
Liaquat Ali Bhatti Associate Professor, Department of Surgery, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Lahore, Punjab Pakistan
M. Idrees Anwar Professor, Department of Surgery, Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi, Punjab Pakistan
M. Aslam Chaudhry Professor, Department of ENT, Benazir Bhutto Hospital, Rawalpindi, Punjab Pakistan
Malik Irfan Ahmed Senior Registrar, Department of Surgery, District Headquarter Hospital, Rawalpindi, Punjab Pakistan
Maha Nadir House Officer, Department of Surgery, Rawalpindi Medical University, Rawalpindi, Punjab Pakistan
Hamza Nadir Medical Student, Rawalpindi Medical University, Rawalpindi, Punjab Pakistan
Mishal Fatima Medical Student, Rawalpindi Medical University, Rawalpindi, Punjab Pakistan

DOI: https://doi.org/10.35787/jimdc.v10i2.697

Keywords: Hypocalcemia, Postoperative complications, Recurrent laryngeal nerve damage, Thyroidectomy

Abstract

Background: There is a lack of standardized guidelines regarding selection of appropriate thyroid surgery for patients with benign diseases. As a result, an inexperienced surgeon may select a more aggressive surgical option, which may increase the complication rate. The objective of this study was to compare the outcomes of thyroid surgical procedures for benign diseases with the expertise of the surgeon.
Material and Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study from 1999 to 2018. The study setting is of a public sector tertiary care teaching hospital. Patients undergoing thyroid surgery (lobectomy with isthmusectomy, subtotal thyroidectomy (STT), near total thyroidectomy (NTT), or total thyroidectomy (TT)) were included. Expertise level 1, 2 and 3 (L1, L2, L3) of the surgeon was based on years of experience or number of thyroid surgeries to their credit. Postoperative complications (hypocalcemia, recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) damage, airway obstruction, hemorrhage and mortality) were measured against type of thyroid surgery and expertise of the surgeon.
Results: A total of 833 thyroid surgeries were performed on 695 (83.43%) females and 138 (16.57%) males. About 502 (60.26%) STT, 228 (27.37%) TT, 61 (7.32%) NTT, 42 (5.04%) lobectomies with isthmusectomies were performed, with LI, 2, and 3 surgeons performing 21.25%, 45.74% and 33% of these procedures, respectively. Surgeons with L1, 2 and 3 levels of expertise caused 49.47%, 33.45% and 17.08% of adverse events, respectively. Permanent hypocalcemia, RLN damage and mortality were significantly more common in surgeries performed by L1 compared with L2 and L3 surgeons (P<.05). Transient and permanent hypocalcemia, transient and permanent RLN damage and mortality were significantly more common for total thyroidectomy compared to subtotal thyroidectomy (P<.01).
Conclusions: Minimizing the occurrence of complications like permanent hypocalcemia, RLN damage and mortality, expertise of the surgeon and anticipated difficulty of the procedure needs to be taken into account while selecting a thyroid procedure.